by Lexi Garcia | Mar 2, 2023 | Blog
HHS’s Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a fact sheet addressing the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), which (along with the COVID-19 national emergency) is anticipated to end on May 11, 2023. The fact sheet, which is addressed to individuals, confirms that HHS is expecting the PHE to expire at the end of the day on May 11 and provides information about the implications for coverage under private health insurance, as well as Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. Here are highlights relevant to employer-sponsored group health plans:
- COVID-19 Vaccines, Testing, and Treatments. Most plans must continue to cover vaccines furnished by in-network providers without cost sharing but may require individuals receiving vaccines from out-of-network providers to share part of the cost. When the PHE ends, mandatory coverage for OTC and laboratory-based COVID-19 PCR and antigen tests will end. Plans may choose to cover these tests but may require cost sharing, prior authorization, or other forms of medical management. The end of the PHE will not change how COVID-19 treatments are covered; plans that require cost sharing or apply deductibles may continue to do so.
- Access to Telehealth Services. As is currently the case during the PHE, coverage for telehealth and other remote care services may vary from plan to plan after the PHE ends. When covered, plans may impose cost-sharing, prior authorization, or other forms of medical management.
Source: Thomson Reuters
by Lexi Garcia | Feb 28, 2023 | Blog
QUESTION: For 2023, an employee elected $2,400 of health FSA coverage under our calendar-year cafeteria plan, which is funded solely through employee salary reductions and does not provide for carryovers or include a grace period. The employee has already incurred medical expenses equal to this amount in 2023 and wants to be reimbursed for the expenses now, even though she has only made health FSA salary reductions of $400 to date. Do we have to reimburse all of these expenses right away, or can we limit reimbursements to the amount our employee has already contributed and ask her to resubmit the remaining expenses as additional contributions are made?
ANSWER: Your employee must be reimbursed for all of her expenses now, assuming that the expenses are otherwise eligible for reimbursement (e.g., they are for medical care incurred during the current period of coverage, and appropriate substantiation has been provided). That’s because IRS requirements for health FSAs include a “uniform coverage” rule under which the maximum amount of reimbursement must be available at all times during the plan year (or other period of coverage), reduced only for any prior reimbursements for the same period. Reimbursement is deemed “available” under the uniform coverage rule if claims are paid at least monthly, or when an employee’s submitted claims reach a reasonable plan minimum (e.g., $50). Thus, reimbursements cannot be restricted to the amount of the employee’s contributions.
The uniform coverage rule also prohibits accelerating an employee’s salary reductions based on health FSA claims submitted or paid. Note that the uniform coverage rule does not apply to DCAPs, so reimbursements under a DCAP can be limited to the amount that has been contributed, less expenses already reimbursed.
Source: Thomson Reuters
